TV Unlimited - Cisco · Operators have countered the OTT onslaught with their own multiscreen experiences, but pay-TV content . from the television is often inconsistently available

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TV Unlimited: How Cloud DVR Will Transform Video Services

TV Unlimited: How Cloud DVR Will Transform Video Services

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TV Unlimited: How Cloud DVR Will Transform Video Services

The consumer market for video services is more challenging than ever for operators. In this environment, a well-known part of the pay-TV offering may hold the key to improved profitability and competitiveness in video services – the DVR.

The movement of DVR functionality from TV-connected devices into the operator’s network represents a potential transformation of pay TV, providing the flexibility to offer a

variety of new service options, features, consumer experiences, and revenue opportunities.

A Challenging Environment for Operators

Demand is high and increasing across the globe. Consumers are watching record amounts of video, filling

available time with their favorite TV programs and movies. The total number of screens within homes continues

to rise, including TVs, computers, tablets, and smartphones. To meet this demand, operator networks are

offering greater capacity and performance than has been available in the past, delivering broadband speeds of

a gigabit per second or faster.

IN A CERTAIN SENSE, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BE IN THE VIDEO BUSINESS.

GLOBAL IP TRAFFIC BY DEVICE TYPEBY 2019, NON-PC DEVICES WILL DRIVE67% OF GLOBAL IP TRAFFIC

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

EXABYTESPER MONTH

Device Percentages (x, y) refer to 2014, 2019 device shareSource: Cisco VNI Global IP Traffic Forecast, 2014-2019

© 2014-2015 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

020406080

100120140160180

PCs (60%, 33%)Smartphones (6%, 23%)TVs (29%, 22%)Tablets (4%, 19%)M2M (1%, 3%)Non-Smartphones (0%, 0%)Other (0.1%, 0.1%)

23% CAGR 2014-2019

According to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global IP Traffic Forecast, consumption of video across all screens will continue to grow, with video-enabled mobile devices driving most of the growth in IP traffic.

While pay TV’s strength and primary source of revenues is in linear, broadcast TV, a substantial and quickly growing portion of consumption is on-demand.

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While operators offer free and paid VOD to satisfy users’ appetite for on-demand viewing, many consumers

are turning to OTT video services to meet their content needs, in part due to the easier discoverability of and

multiscreen access to interesting content.

FRAGMENTATION OF THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE IS ALSO A CHALLENGE.

ALMOST ONE-HALF OF ALL VIDEO VIEWING ON THE TV BY U.S. BROADBAND HOUSEHOLDS TODAY IS ON-DEMAND, INCLUDING OTT, PHYSICAL MEDIA, OPERATOR VOD, AND RECORDED CONTENT.

Operators have countered the OTT onslaught with

their own multiscreen experiences, but pay-TV content

from the television is often inconsistently available

to consumers on other connected devices. Again,

the desire to access preferred content on preferred

devices is driving consumers into the arms of OTT

video services.

The widespread and growing availability of content

options for consumers exacerbates another challenge

for operators – ARPUs. In an environment of cord

shaving (consumers reducing their pay-TV spend in

favor of OTT or other alternatives), operators need

features that can both satisfy consumers’ changing

preferences and drive incremental revenues.

The Good and Bad of the Traditional DVR

Despite initial fears that the DVR would ultimately hurt the television industry, this TV-connected device has

proven to be a godsend. The DVR allows consumers to avoid missing their favorite programming and also lets

them consume greater volumes of content by shifting consumption to more convenient times. Viewers can more

easily follow serialized content, which keeps them engaged and helps maintain or build audiences throughout

a programming season.

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DVR-based video consumption has continued to rise over the past few years, with the average hours of DVR-recorded content watched per month almost doubling since 2010.

Share of Content Sources for TV ViewingU.S. Broadband Households

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Video-on-Demand DVR Internet Video DVDs/Blu-ray Discs Broadcast TV

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DVR viewing is one of the few pay-TV features that has kept pace with the increasing use of OTT video services on the television.

While the U.S. market has the highest penetration of operator-provided DVRs (78% of all DVRs are provided as part of a pay-TV service), figures in Europe are notable as well.

The DVR is highly popular among consumers and provides incremental revenues for operators.

Broadband Households with a DVR

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U.S. U.K. France Spain Germany

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Some aspects of the DVR are frustrating to consumers.

Managing storage – Consumers must regularly review their DVR recordings in order to have adequate space for more programs. HD-quality recordings exacerbate this challenge. In households of many viewers, users must gather consensus or risk deleting programs wanted by others.

Recording conflicts – Consumers must occasionally choose which desired programs to record and which ones to miss. Though some operators and set-top box makers have addressed this problem by adding more tuners, this solution results in a more expensive device and/or service tier for the consumer, and raises costs for the operator.

Content stuck in the box – Older or less expensive DVRs may not have connectivity to allow other devices to access recorded content. While more expensive DVRs include multiroom capabilities, allowing other set-top boxes in the home to access content recorded on the DVR, only a small percentage of DVRs currently allow multiscreen access to recorded content.

Box-based features – Over time, consumers are left with older DVRs lacking the compelling features of new consumer products entering the market. Even DVRs that have Internet connectivity and that can have the software and firmware dynamically updated are still constrained by the processor, on-board memory, and physical hardware features of the device.

Device failure – The availability of a user’s DVR recordings is only as good as the reliability of the device. Consumers who have purchased their own DVR face a repair bill or a replacement purchase as well as loss of their recorded content. Where consumers receive a DVR as part of their pay-TV service, the operator foots the replacement bill and also receives the wrath of their subscriber if the device fails.

As a result of these challenges and the growing popularity and use of the DVR, many operators are now considering changes to the traditional TV-connected DVR.

Likewise, operators are faced with their own challenges related to the DVR.

CPE cost – Adding recording functionality and storage to the set-top box increases the cost of the device. Operators must also increase the number of tuners in the set-top box to allow users to watch an alternative program while recording or to support multiple concurrent recordings. CPE-related costs are a particular challenge in low ARPU markets.

Reliability – A common point of failure for DVR-enabled set-top boxes is the hard drive used for storing recorded content. Problems with the device’s storage result in additional support costs and returned set-top boxes.

Lagging feature sets - Most classic DVRs cannot stack up against the latest connected CE devices entering the market today. Many new devices offer integration with social media, personalized features, and portable viewing.

Lack of upsell path beyond the core service – While many operator-delivered services have options for upgrades and premium features, the traditional DVR has only a limited upgrade potential beyond the monthly fee for the set-top box. Since the core functionality is tied to the CPE device, upgrades to greater storage capacity, tuners, or additional features must also carry the cost of set-top box replacement.

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A Look into Cloud DVR

Many of the challenges for the traditional DVR are related to limitations of the physical

device itself. Virtualizing components of the DVR eliminates these physical constraints

and offers several unique benefits. However, operators quickly realize that the simple idea

of moving the scheduling, recording and storage functionality from the device into the

network is a surprisingly complex task that affects multiple systems, especially as they

consider adding multiscreen access to recording and playback functionality.

THE DVR SERVES AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE LINEAR BROADCAST WORLD AND THE ON-DEMAND WORLD SOUGHT BY CONSUMERS. THE FUNCTIONS OF A CLOUD DVR TOUCH UPON BOTH OF THESE AREAS.

Storage of a video file seems straightforward. Yet,

where the content is stored impacts the performance

of video playback and the volume of traffic across the

operator’s network, especially for multiscreen delivery.

Content rights also complicate storage, particularly in

markets where regulation, law, and license agreements

determine whether operators must store a copy for

each household or maintain a single copy that can

be accessed by many subscribers. These content

rights can significantly impact the cost for storing and

delivering cloud-recorded content.

A scheduler allows users to specify the content

that they wish to record and activates the recording

from the live, linear stream. Unlike the traditional

scheduler operating within the DVR device, a cloud-

based scheduler interacts with several network-

based components of the cloud DVR. The scheduler is

commonly integrated into the EPG in order to provide

a familiar user interface for viewers. Since the EPG may

run on the set-top box, be tied into the operator’s

middleware, or run entirely in the operator’s network,

the integration of the EPG, scheduler, and recording

function is a complex effort.

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Though the transition from CPE-based DVR to cloud-based DVR is complex, the move to the cloud adds improved flexibility and features that can unlock new potential revenue and service opportunities.

A policy control and rights management

system is necessary to ensure that the pay-

TV operator is meeting its licensing and

content protection obligations and that

users have the right to schedule, record,

and play back the selected content on their

devices. The cloud-based policy control

must interact with multiple business and

rights management systems to authorize

and entitle multiple users and devices, as

well as to resolve conflicts that can arise

as the number of users and devices per

account increase.

Playout of the recorded file involves many

components common to OTT and

on-demand delivery systems. Multiscreen

content packaging functions prepare the

video files into various bit rates and profiles

to ensure quality playback across consumer

screens such as smartphones, tablets,

and other Internet-connected devices. A

content management system draws out

the selected content to be played for users

as it is requested.

Cloud DVR implementations may include ad insertion systems that provide revenue

opportunities in ways that most CPE-based DVRs cannot. Operators can replace ads in

recorded content with ones that are better targeted to the viewer. Since advertisers

only pay for ads that are played from the DVR within three (or at most seven) days after

broadcast, pay-TV operators can generate ad revenues by inserting new and more relevant

ads into content played after this period.

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Improved insight

Device-based DVRs offer pay-TV providers little, if any, data on the viewing and recording habits of their subscribers. In contrast, cloud DVR allows operators to see nuanced usage details on content recording, viewing, and storage for individual users, households, or in aggregate. These details help operators understand the evolving habits of consumers, refine content offerings, and position those offerings to maximize revenues. This insight also allows operators to tune their infrastructure and improve the operational performance of the cloud DVR system.

Greater personalization

With a wealth of new usage data, pay-TV providers can provide a deeper level of personalization to subscribers. The EPG and discovery tools can be optimized to the preferences of the particular user or household, allowing consumers to find desired content more quickly across linear, on-demand, and recorded content. Leveraging viewing history and preferences, the cloud DVR can offer a more seamless experience by predictively recording content that consumers may have forgotten to select for recording.

Reduced consumer frustration

Many of the DVR-related consumer frustrations involve restrictions in the device itself. No longer will consumers face loss of their recorded content if the hard drive fails. In addition, the number of recordings is no longer gated by the number of tuners on the set-top box or the size of a local hard drive. Not only will these factors reduce frustration, but they will also reduce the number of DVR-related support calls and device replacement costs faced by operators.

New experiences

With greater control over the content and features, the cloud DVR introduces new user-experience possibilities. For example, the cloud DVR can ensure that programs are recorded in full, rather than being cut off, as can occur when programs run beyond their scheduled length or when changes in the actual broadcast are not reflected in the schedule. Alternatively, the service may allow users to download recorded content to authenticated devices for offline playback.

The Impact of Cloud DVR

CLOUD DVR CAN HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON THE WAYS IN WHICH VIDEO IS DELIVERED, MONETIZED, AND CONSUMED.

One of the most striking areas of impact is in the potential elevation of the user experience, including the

following areas:

Business Value of Cloud DVR Cisco Perspective

Unlimited flexibility by combining intelligence and control with cloud recording and storage

• Manage storage with content lifecycle policies to control retention and use metadata to ensure recording requests capture the complete event

• Remove duplicate recordings and advertising—as defined by policy—to optimize common and unique copy recordings

• Intelligently cache recorded content in the network or the STB based on booking popularity or network load

• Personalize recording management, bookmarks, favorites and discovery to individual user profiles

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Virtualizing the DVR introduces a variety of new features that can differentiate a pay-TV service and provide options that consumers cannot receive with traditional TV-connected DVRs.

Unlimited storage

Of the feature benefits produced by cloud DVR, unlimited storage is the one that most resonates with

consumers. Since this feature is unique to cloud DVR, consumers will only be able to receive it from

participating pay-TV providers. Operators can scale the amount of storage per customer, transforming

unlimited storage into both a differentiating feature and a premium upgrade.

Multiscreen access

While OTT video services and aspects of the pay-TV service are accessible on Internet-connected

devices, the DVR remains one of the few holdouts in the multiscreen trend. The ability to access

recorded content on multiple connected screens is a feature desired by consumers. However,

multiscreen access to recorded content is largely unavailable in most markets and for most DVRs.

Blending live, catch-up, and on-demand viewing

In the end, consumers simply want to watch programming when it is convenient to their schedule.

Cloud DVR can make this viewing seamless and allows pay-TV providers to implement user interfaces

that blur the lines between live, catch-up, and recorded or on-demand programming across all

consumer screens.

© Parks Associates

OVER33%

of U.S. pay-TV households �nd itvery appealing to access recordedcontent on multiple connected screens.

© Parks Associates

OVER50%

of U.S. pay-TV subscribersstate that unlimited storageis very appealing.

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Virtualization provides operators with a level of flexibility that is simply not possible with CPE-based DVRs. In an era of quickly changing user habits and competitive forces, greater flexibility can be an important competitive advantage.

• Greater control of content – With CPE-based DVRs, pay-TV providers have virtually no control over the content recorded to the set-top box. With cloud DVR, pay-TV providers have greater control over the content and the user’s interaction with that content. In addition to scaling the total volume that can be recorded, pay-TV providers can set parameters such as limits on how long recordings are archived or the devices that can play back recorded content. This level of control is particularly attractive to content partners, and pay-TV providers can use it to help secure and monetize the content rights needed for cloud DVR.

• Ability to dynamically replace ads – In markets such as North America, where operators actively participate in ad sales, cloud DVR ad insertion provides new ad inventory that can be sold alongside broadcast advertising. For operators in other markets, cloud DVR advertising represents an entirely new source of revenue. With greater control over the content, operators can also set policies on the viewer’s ability to skip ads during playback of recorded content.

• Flexibility in business models and new experiences – Because the cloud DVR operates within the managed network, operators are able to modify the system software at the network level rather than on each set-top box. So, new business models, features, and service capabilities can be deployed as a software upgrade to all subscribers. As a result, operators can better respond to changing market dynamics and introduce innovative services at the Internet speeds consumers increasingly expect.

• Ability to leverage legacy hardware – Since new innovations can be implemented in the network, operators are able to offer new capabilities without wholesale replacement of set-top boxes. This flexibility can extend the life of existing CPE devices and also minimize the hassles faced by subscribers in exchanging equipment.

• Potential for increased penetration – With a cloud-based approach to the DVR, operators can promote DVR services in ways that are not feasible with CPE-based DVRs. For example, operators can offer limited trials to introduce consumers to cloud DVR or to new premium cloud DVR features.

Demand for Cloud DVR FeaturesU.S. Broadband Households

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Predictive recording based on user history

Multiscreen access to recorded content

Unlimited storage

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Unlocking the Potential

Cloud DVR opens up new video service options that the pay-TV operator can uniquely provide.

With an increasingly competitive market for video

services, operators need new, unique services

that can provide differentiation, delight users, and

produce incremental revenues. Improvements to

the DVR represent an enhancement of one of the

operator’s core businesses. It is an offering that

is well understood and accepted by consumers,

providing a reliable base for adoption.

Although content restrictions remain in some

markets, content producers and rights holders

are now more open to discussions about the

benefits of cloud DVR, including greater control

over content and participation in advertising

revenues. As this obstacle is overcome, cloud DVR

is likely to see increased interest among pay-TV

providers.

With an ability to record a near-infinite amount of content and to play it back on any device,

pay-TV operators have an opportunity to capture a greater share of video consumption, including

viewing that may be going to OTT video services.

Combined with greater flexibility and enhanced service features, this new area of

innovation represents a potential transformation of video services and the way that

content is consumed.

Navigating the business and technical challenges of this transformation requires a platform that reaches broadly across the ecosystem of linear, on demand, and multiscreen content preparation, distribution and experience delivery.

The platform should be grounded in an architecture that combines:

• The elasticity to scale resources to meet changing requirements

• The flexibility to manage and modify control systems to accommodate dynamic business policies

• The agility to rapidly and seamlessly provision new experiences that satisfy evolving consumer desires.

The first stage of this transformation has provided cloud-based and elastic recording and storage capabilities which are unavailable in the set-top box. But it is the combination of an intelligent and dynamic policy control system with an elastic video processing infrastructure that can enable service and content providers to approach the infinite possibilities available with cloud DVR.

Cisco provides a pre-integrated solution for cloud DVR which combines the management and control of content scheduling, recording, user preferences and business policies with elastic video processing functions for transcoding, recording, storing and packaging content. It enables the complete transformation of DVR functionality from an in-home architecture to a cloud-based and multiscreen architecture.

Built on a foundation of open, modular and cloud-based components, the Cisco cloud DVR solution enables you to elastically support multiple video services such as Live, VOD and Time Shift TV. It provisions cloud resources as requests for recordings, storage and multiscreen playback sessions increase and releases them as requests are completed. Control plane integration provides the essential policy controls, account management and personalization capabilities you need to authorize multiscreen scheduling, recording and playback, upsell service tiers to subscribers, create personalized offers, and enable new functionality.

Evolving to the Infinite Possibilities of Cloud DVR

The solution is founded on Cisco’s experience delivering DVR hardware and software to pay-TV providers worldwide, alongside the policy controls for managing and evolving scheduling and recording functions to connected devices and the cloud, and established performance powering demanding video recording and playback systems.

For more information, please visit: Cisco Cloud DVR Solution

This paper examines how the transformation of today’s DVR services from TV-connected devices to a cloud-based infrastructure opens up vast new opportunities across the entire media value chain – from the content provider and pay-TV service provider through to the subscriber.

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Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services.

Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small

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About The Author Brett Sappington, Director, Research, Parks Associates

As a director of research at Parks Associates, Brett Sappington leads Parks Associates ser-

vices research team, including access and entertainment services, digital media, OTT,

cloud media, video gaming, and technical support services. Brett is an expert in world-

wide television and broadband services. His personal research focuses on the activities

and trends among operators and the market forces affecting their businesses.

Brett has spent over eighteen years in the industry as an analyst, executive manager, and entrepreneur. Brett

holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin with a concentration in high-tech marketing and a BA

in physics from Baylor University.

INDUSTRY EXPERTISE: International Digital Living Trends, Television Services (IPTV, cable, satellite/DTH,

terrestrial/DTT), Broadband Services, Multiscreen Services, Value-added Services, Cloud-based Consumer

Services, Set-top Boxes, Residential Gateways, Electronic Program Guides, Video Search and Recommendation,

Video Metadata, Middleware, Technical Support Services

Twitter ID: @BrettsView

ATTRIBUTION—Authored by Brett Sappington. Published by Parks Associates. © Parks Associates, Dallas, Texas 75248. All

rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the

publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

DISCLAIMER—Parks Associates has made every reasonable effort to ensure that all information in this report is correct. We as-

sume no responsibility for any inadvertent errors.

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